The Californian Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA) has proposed amendments to the short form of the ‘clear and reasonable’
warning required by Proposition 65 (Prop 65), known as a ‘Prop 65 Warning’.
The proposed amendment to Article 6, ‘Clear and Reasonable Warnings’,
was issued on January 8, 2021. Article 6 was originally adopted by the OEHHA in
August 2016, and it became effective in August 2018. It adopted safe harbor
warning methods and content, including provisions for a short form version.
The proposed changes will clarify the guidance concerning the provision
of safe harbor warnings and will align the short form warning with the original
stated intent – i.e., a short form Prop 65 Warning should only be used where,
due to limited label space on the consumer product, a full-length warning is
not possible.
The proposal will also clarify the use of short form warnings for
exposures to listed chemicals from food.
Prop 65, or the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of
1986’, is a unique piece of legislation passed in November 1986. It requires
the state to maintain a list of chemicals (Prop 65 List) known to cause cancer,
birth defects and/or reproductive harm. Unless exempted, businesses operating
in California must provide ‘a clear and reasonable warning’ (Prop 65 Warning)
before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a substance on the Prop
65 List, which now contains around 900 chemicals. Companies have twelve months
to comply with this requirement once a substance is included in the Prop 65
List.
Stakeholders have until March 8, 2021 to comment on the proposal.
SGS Prop 65 Services
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SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the
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Proposed Amendments to Proposition 65 Short-form Warning Labels SafeGuardS.
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For further information contact:
Louann Spirito
Consumer and Retail — Softlines
US & Canada Softlines Business Head
Tel: +1 973 461 7919
Email: crs.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/cgnr
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail
About SGS
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and
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and integrity. With more than 89,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over
2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.